Assistant County Attorney

James W. Davis, an attorney with the state Public Defender's office, has been hired as assistant county attorney.Davis, 33, worked for the Osceola Division of the 9th Circuit's Public Defender since 1982. He is a graduate of the University of Florida Law School and the University of Central Florida.Davis will act as an assistant to County Attorney Neal Bowen and will handle much of the land acquisition involved in the county's $8 million road program.The assistant county attorney position pays $35,000 per year.

As a lawyer, Theophilus Isaac "T.I. " Harris III had a career counseling soldiers in the military and advising the Volusia County Sheriff's Office and the assistant county attorney. After he retired, he volunteered as a Guardian ad Litem for children. "Dad was all about service and self-sacrifice in a quiet way," his son, Ty Harris of DeLand, said. "He was not out on visible committees, but he quietly went about doing what he could do. " T.I. Harris, of DeLand, was in Georgia assisting his brother-in-law after surgery when he died after a seven-car, chain-reaction accident.

Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday named as judge Heather K. O'Brien, currently an assistant Osceola County attorney. O'Brien, 33, will succeed retiring Osceola County Judge Ronald A. Legendre. She has been assistant county attorney since 2007. Before that, she worked as a staff attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit – Orange and Osceola counties - and as an assistant public defender. She graduated from Georgetown University Law Center. She's been a member of the Florida Bar for six years.

Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday named as judge Heather K. O'Brien, currently an assistant Osceola County attorney. O'Brien, 33, will succeed retiring Osceola County Judge Ronald A. Legendre. She has been assistant county attorney since 2007. Before that, she worked as a staff attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit – Orange and Osceola counties - and as an assistant public defender. She graduated from Georgetown University Law Center. She's been a member of the Florida Bar for six years.

A county voting district winding through four cities could be the key to resolving a lawsuit filed by a group of black and Hispanic voters.Seminole County planners have designed a theoretical district stretching from Sanford to Geneva to Oviedo to Altamonte Springs in which 38 percent of voters would be black or Hispanic, assistant county attorney Lonnie Groot said.The suit, which the county hopes to settle out of court, claims minorities are hindered in commission races because their voting strength is diluted by at-large elections in mostly white Seminole County.

Almost 700 acres near an east Volusia County landfill soon may be used for industrial park space and public recreational activities.The Volusia County Council agreed Thursday to pay Var-Gal Tree Farms Inc. about $1.2 million for 687 acres directly south of the Tomoka Farms Landfill.County officials plan to lease some land to industrial tenants. The rest may be used for recreation.The property also will serve as a buffer between the landfill and a residential neighborhood.Closing on the purchase is expected before Sept.

KISSIMMEE -- Civil lawsuits will soon help pump money into a legal-guardian program used mostly by seniors. Osceola County has updated its filing fee schedule and will charge the maximum allowed under state law, $15, for civil actions. The old fee had been $3. The money will go toward the public guardianship program, which provides legal help to the "incapacitated," usually those who are elderly and without family, said assistant county attorney Scott Polodna. The change could generate as much as $12,000 a year for the program, an amount the county now pays through its budget.

An assistant public defender has been selected for the newly created county position of economic development director, said Deputy County Manager Alvin Jackson on Tuesday.Bruce Duncan, who previously served a three-year stint as an assistant county attorney, will start his new $45,552-a-year job with the county Monday.``He was the best candidate,'' Jackson said.In February, the county narrowed a pool of 30 candidates to a short list of five. The next cut came from a county selection committee, which recommended Duncan and a second candidate, Derieth Sutton, an economic development specialist with the city of Palm Bay in Brevard County.

Seminole County officials hope to resolve a lawsuit by a group of black and Hispanic voters without going to court.The lawsuit claims that minorities are hindered in County Commission races because their voting strength is diluted by at-large elections. The county is mostly white. The lawsuit seeks election by district.Using demographics, county planners designed a theoretical district that would encompass highly concentrated pockets of minority voters, assistant county attorney Lonnie Groot said.

ORANGE COUNTY---Advocates protested Orange County government's hiring of a new animal-shelter leader Monday, saying she has no experience running such facilities. The previous candidate tapped to run the Animal Services division was forced to withdraw after concerns were raised that his primary experience had been working at a company that conducted animal testing. The latest choice, Katherine Lockett, is an assistant county attorney who has never run a shelter, critics say. "She's not qualified," said Gloria Wade of the Animal Welfare Alliance of Central Florida, who joined a few other protesters outside the county's administrative building.

Voters considering the three candidates vying to fill one of the newly created jurist positions in the 5th Judicial Circuit will choose between a veteran private attorney, an assistant county attorney and a certified court mediator. They'll also need to pay attention to the candidates' name variations. Daniel B. Merritt Jr. is known as "Tiger." Geoffrey Kirk appears on the ballot as "Jeff Kirk." Sabato DeVito prefers "Sal." The lawyers are candidates for Group 31 circuit judge, a position that will split time between Citrus and Hernando counties.

Kissimmee -- Two circuit judges and another judge for the County Court bench were formally invested into office Friday during ceremonies at the Osceola County Courthouse. All will serve in the Osceola branch of the 9th Judicial Circuit, which also includes Orange County. Jon Morgan was elevated to the circuit bench in 2005 after serving as an Osceola County Court judge. Before that, Morgan was a prosecutor in the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office for 18 years. Scott Polodna was appointed a circuit judge in April.

Stefania Jancewicz is Osceola County's newest county judge. Gov. Jeb Bush announced the appointment late Monday. Jancewicz fills the vacancy created when Jon Morgan was elevated to the 9th Judicial Circuit, which includes Osceola and Orange counties. Jancewicz, 36, of Kissimmee is currently a general magistrate in Osceola. She has held the position since 2004. Previously, she was an associate attorney with the law firm of Mullins & DeNike. She received her undergraduate degree from Flagler College in 1991 and her Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law in 1996.

A federal judge in Orlando opened the legal doors last week for Rabbi Joseph Konikov to sue Orange County for damages over the county's four-year battle to keep him from conducting religious services in his home. A judge ruled Jan. 20 that the county's ordinance was vague and unfairly singled out religious services. That ended the fight between the rabbi and the county over complaints about parking, traffic and noise in his Sand Lake Hills neighborhood. But although the ruling was a victory for the rabbi, it also, according to his attorneys, tied his hands against pursuing damages against the county.

MIAMI -- Three protesters arrested as they demonstrated against a free-trade conference have agreed to settle a lawsuit claiming Miami-Dade County jailers unnecessarily strip-searched the women and forced them to squat naked and "hop like a bunny" in open view. The women and the county "reached a settlement in principle," but the final wording still must be worked out, Assistant County Attorney Jeffrey Ehrlich said Tuesday. The county has agreed to re-evaluate jail policies. "We're reviewing them just to ensure that all of our policies and practices comply with the law," Ehrlich said.

The $2.5 million Thacker Avenue widening project, which was completed in May after several months' delay, will cost taxpayers another $211,000.Osceola County commissioners Monday approved the payment to settle a claim filed by the 7-Eleven at Vine Street and Thacker Avenue. The convenience store claims it lost 30 percent of its business because of the roadwork. The county closed one of two Thacker Avenue entrances to the store while widening Thacker from Oak to Vine streets and adding sidewalks.

DELTONA -- The top administrators for Deltona and Volusia County will sit down Monday to discuss the city's controversial annexation of 5,000 acres on its eastern border -- and the main property owner says he does not want to be left out of the conversation. The county is expected to sue Deltona over the voluntary annexation this week. Under state law, governmental bodies that are facing litigation must go through a series of meetings to try to resolve their conflicts before going to court.

A rabbi who has racked up $29,900 in code-enforcement fines by refusing to halt religious services in his home will appeal a federal court's ruling against him. An attorney for Rabbi Joseph Konikov said Tuesday that the judge's ruling doesn't change the fact that Orange County is treading on his client's constitutional right to worship as he pleases. "The law is unconstitutional," Orlando attorney John Stemberger said. "It should be changed. Religious gatherings all over the county are at risk."